Mikel Arteta singled out Real Madrid loanee Martin Odegaard for special praise after Arsenal battled back from 3-0 down to rescue a draw against West Ham in today’s marquee Premier League matchup.
Miguel Delaney of the Independent asked Arteta about the attacking midfielder’s ‘performance’ as he looked to be ‘running the game’, as well as the Norwegian star’s overall ‘impact’.
Arteta replied by stating Odegaard had an ‘incredible performance’, with the Gunners boss impressed by how ‘intelligent’ the 22-year-old was and how he ‘read’ the game.
Arteta added that when the entire team was ‘trembling’, having been 3-0 down for almost all of the first-half, Odegaard showed ‘stability’ and ‘composure’ on the ball, whilst remaining a creative contributor.
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Mikel Arteta was full of praise for Real Madrid loanee Martin Odegaard after that ‘incredible’ performance to rally the ‘trembling’ team back against West Ham… pic.twitter.com/UcdzxfrQy4
— CaughtOffside (@caughtoffside) March 21, 2021
Here is the former Arsenal captain turned manager’s full response to Delaney’s question:
“Yeah, I think he had an incredible performance. I think he was very intelligent, the way he read the game, the way he affected the game. Again, he showed how much he wants to win.”
“When everybody was a little bit trembling, he gave us that stability and composure on the ball, he created chance after chance.”
Odegaard twice played a pass leading to an assist for the Gunners this afternoon, one to Calum Chambers before Alexandre Lacazette pulled back a first and another to Pepe before Laca made it 3-3.
The recently crowned captain of Norway’s national team has now made 12 appearances for the Gunners, with Odegaard firmly one of the first and most influential names on the teamsheet right now.
This has sparked wishes of a permanent transfer, but Odegaard remains a key part of Los Blancos’ future, his recent displays will have certainly left the Madrid hierarchy impressed and excited.